David S. Reynold's "Mightier Then the Sword : Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Battle for America"

It was not the message that was so mighty, which had been presented previously. It was the way it was presented that made it mightier. For it was a more nuanced message then previously. Not all Southeners were bad. Not all Northeners were good. That's what made it mighty. That and the previous shrill rhethoric of the message which had turned off alot of people was now toned down.

But, as mighty as it was, when read, it was even mightier when seen. For more people saw the stage presentation, then read the book. And it even changed American theater.

Which had previously been mostly comic skits, interspersed with song and dance interludes, was now one-long form play with acts and scenes.Which had previously been suitable for only men to see, was now suitable for women and children to watch.Which had previously been seen only on weekday nights, because of the demand, now gave rise to afternoon matinees and weekend performances.It gave blacks some of their first starring roles on the stage.It gave blacks and whites a change to mingle on stage.And it gave some future white stars, such as Mary Pickford, their first acting experience.

And the message was such, that even in the days of "Birth of a Nation" and "Gone with the Wind," which espoused the superiority of whites over blacks, the message was still being espoused, but it was coming from a strange source. It was coming from the cartoon studios of Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. And here the message was not that blacks were equal to whites, but that blacks were superior to whites, and miscegnation was to the good.

And the message was not only an abolitionist message, but a temperance message, and a call not only for the empowerment of blacks, but a call for the empowerment of women and workers, as well.

Currently in the middle of a Star Wars novel, "Tatooine Ghost," by an author whose name escapes me at the moment.

Troy Denning. A good writer. I haven't read any of his "Star War" novels, but I have read some of his fantasy novels, and as I said a good writer.

Ye-es!

A miscellaney of fiction and non-fiction.

Miller and Shales' "Those Guys Have All the Fun : Inside the World of ESPN.'

An oral history by the same writers who did a previous oral history on "Saturday Night Live."

As long as you do not make the mistake of thinking their latest is a reflection of the greatmoments in sports, as seen by ESPN, this is a good read or, how a father and son's idea for an all-sports network morphed into the biggest sports network in the world. They do seemingly get everybody to talk, especially when there are two or more sides to an issue that might be controversial. The only thing it needs is a "Dramatis Personae," while the speakers are identified with their position the first time they appear, that is the only time this happens, so afterwards, it is hard, especially for the off-air personalities to be identified with their position.

Stephen King's "The Stand" v. 5 in graphic format.

This reminds me alot of the "Star Trek" films, for just as the even number films were thought to be better than the odd number films, so the even numbered volumes in this series are better than the odd numbered volumes. Thus, this volume is not as good as volume 4 or volume 6, which is the next and last volume. And which we'll try to get to later.

About to start a zombie Western (!) called "Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes" by Rob DeBorde.

This one simply wasn't grabbing me after around 100 pages so I ditched it. Returned it to the library and picked up:

Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood by David Grove - a very thorough, trivia packed book on the making of each installment in the legendary slasher film series. I'm already enjoying this a ton and I'm only finished with the chapters on the first two movies.

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe - traces the history of Stan Lee's four color empire from its humble late 1950s beginnings to the current multi-media powerhouse of today. Tons of geek trivia, right up my alley.

Stephen Budiansky's "Perilous Fight : America's Intrepid War With Britain in the High Seas, 1812-1815."

His 13th book. So, one of those writers who'll turn their hand to almost anything, where there might be some money to be made.

The subtitle is a bit of a cheat, as the book actually covers the U.S. Navy from about 1804 to about 1820. Other than that, how does this book differ from previous books on the subject, including a well-received book by Teddy Roosevelt.

The writer goes into more detail how bloody and brutal was naval warfare in the 1810s. Thus, he covers the cost of such warfare, especially as the cost was greater because of the incompetence of some of the Americans involved, and because of the in-fighting among the Americans.

He also expresses more sympathy for the racial minorities involved, then I've seen before. And he covers in greater detail the British side of the war, then I've seen before.

Mercy is a coyote shapeshifter who runs with a pack of werewolves in the area, who don' trust the local vampires, who don't trust the local witches, who don't trust the local fae, who don't trust the humans in the area, who don't trust none of the above. So, a bit of conflict. Not only among the groups, but within the groups as well, as everyone seems to be looking out for their own interests, as opposed to the interests of the group.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it is set in Washington State, and how Washington State seems to be the new stomping ground, not only for werewolves, but for vampires as well. As they are seeming almost everywhere, from Spokane in the east, to Forks in the west, to Seattle in the north, to the Tricities area in the south, where this one is set, or almost the whole state.

Including the "Twilight" series which is set in Forks, which drives me nuts. I know Forks, having lived near there for a number of years. And no self-respecting vampire would be caught living or dead in Forks. If there were such things as vampires, and they lived on the Olympia Penisula, where Forks is located, then they'd live in old Port Townsend or the newer Port Angeles.

Next time: an almost continuously continuing selection of fiction and non-fiction.

Recently, I started to go through Eric Lustbader's Ninja series again, for the first time in well over ten years. I first read The Ninja in the mid 80's and worked my way through as they came out. Right now I'm halfway through The Miko and enjoying it. Far from being a 'straightforward' American author, he has some quite florid turns of phrase, and tells the story through a series of flashbacks that illuminate present characters.

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"Many others since have tried & failed at making a watchable parasite slug movie" - LilCerberus

The Diary of Dorothy Wordsworth, 1798. I like her keen descriptive powers that verbally illustrate rural life in the placid west country of England amid the symphonic rhythms of nature, but the chick lived with her brother and seriously needed: A) her own place, and B) some good "kissing."

Also just finished CAUGHT by Harlen Coben. Enjoyed it. The moral is, don't believe anything you read on the internet, ever.

I don't believe that was the moral.

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"...the luscious love melons of Linnea Quigley are back on the screen in 'Sexbomb,' except that she's no longer Linnea Quigley. She's billed simply as 'Linnea'... So, you might be wondering, where is Linnea Qui... I mean, Linnea? She's exactly where we would expect, wandering around through the background with her breasts hanging out. She's got maybe, oh, eight words to say in this movie, and most of them are 'Here, I brought you some coffee.'"-Joe Bob on SEXBOMB